Combination cutting and surfacing grinder



Patented July 13, 1943 Paul E. Lowe, Scranton, Pa., assignor to The Rails Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 31, 1941, Serial No. 425,093

2 Claims.

My invention relates to rail grinders with particular reference to combination cutting and surfacing grinders operated from a single source of power and specifically designed for use on railway track in remote sections, which requires that they .be simple in construction and light enough to be easily and quickly lifted off and on the rails.

According to my invention, a light frame is supported on a carriage comprising a pair of axles extending across the track, each axle being provided with flanged wheels to engage both rails of the track, thus making a carriage which can be rolled back and forth along the rails for surface grinding operations or may be held in one spot for slotting or cutting-off operations. On the frame there is a platform carrying the grinding mechanism and mounted so that it may slide on rollers along the frame crosswise of the track to bring a grinding wheel to position at one or the other of the rails, as desired, and to various positions over either rail. The grinding mechanism comprises a source of power such as an internal combustion motor positioned on the platform and belted to inter-geared parallel driving shafts below the platform and supported thereby. Each shaft is belted to a grinding wheel, either directly or through a gear box, each grinding wheel and its pulley being mounted on an arm pivoted on its own driving shaft, thus permitting up and down motion of the grinding wheel without affecting the belt connection. Hand operated levers are provided above the platform by which the grinding wheel arms may be depressed for operating, springs returning them to inoperative position when the levers are released. The surface grinding wheel is provided with stop mechanism contacting the rail to be ground and preventing any chattering of the Wheel.

Above and parallel to one axle and spaced therefrom is a control shaft extending along the frame and provided with a handwheel at each end. This shaft is geared to the axle as by a chain and sprockets so that an operator by turning the nearest handwheel back and forth will roll the entire carriage back and forth on the rails while the surface grinding wheel is operating, Thus the operator with one hand may feed down the surface grinding Wheel and with the other feed the carriage back and forth along the rail the few inches necessary to surface off the weld metal. A turntable is provided whereby 'the grinder may be swung around so that either rail may be worked on by either grinding wheel.

An object of my invention is to provide a rail grinder of low cost and simple construction, light enough to be easily removed from track'on the approach of a train and as readily replaced in position, and which will serve to do the various types of grinding work required, such as cutting work in which a cutting wheel operates at right angles to the rail, as well as surface grinding of the head of the rail as in grinding down rail ends which have been built up by welding methods, in which case the grinding wheel operates along the rail in planes at right angles to the cutting wheel.

A further object of my-invention is to provide a hand controlled combination cutting and surfacing grinder in which either the cutting or the surfacing wheel may be brought into play on either rail of the track on which the grinder operates.

Another object of my invention is to provide a combination cutting and surfacing grinder provided with hand controlled feed of both the cutting and surfacing operations and in which the surfacing grinder feed is safeguarded by means of a positive stop mechanism contacting the rail itself to prevent the grinding wheel from cutting below predetermined surfaces.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction described in the specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made Within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention. I intend no limitations other than those of the claims when fairly interpreted in the light of the full disclosure and the present state of the art.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrative of a grinder embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view in part of the device of Fig. 1 with the frame broken away, showing particularly the platform and supported parts;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic layout of the grinder of Fig. 1 illustrating the power transmission;

Fig. 4 illustrates a preferred form of grinder wheel stop attachment;

Fig. 5 illustrates a preferred form of turntable for use with the grinder of Fig. 1'.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the views:

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. 1, a frame ID extends crosswise of the rails 9, 9, which form the track and projects beyond them. The frame I is supported by means of brackets 8, 8, on axles 1, 1, provided with flanged wheels 6, 6, which roll on the rails 9, 9. On the frame ID is mounted a platform 5, preferably on rollers 4, 4, so that the platform can be moved from end to end of the frame In and be positioned over either rail.

Above the platform 5 and supported thereon is an internal combustion motor I which drives two parallel shafts 2, 3, preferably through a belt I l, the shafts being geared together as at [2 (Fig. 3) and supported by and below the platform 5.

Pivoted on shaft 2 by a suitable bearing is an arm 14 carrying a bearing I6 in which operates a sub-shaft l8 carrying a cutter grinding wheel 29 and a driven pulley 22 afiixed to the shaft, a belt 26 connecting the driven pulley 22 to a driving pulley 24 fixed on shaft 2. Similarly pivoted on shaft 3 is an arm l3 carrying a gear mounting l5 including a sub-shaft H on which is fixed a driven pulley I9 connected by a belt 2| to a driving pulley 23 fixed on shaft 3 and a surface grinding wheel 25 is geared as at 2! to the subshaft I1 and is mounted to operate in planes at right angles to the cutter wheel 20.

From each pivoted arm l4, 13, a rod 28, 29, rises through the platform to a connected handle 39, 3|, pivoted to the body of the engine I so that as the handle is depressed the connected pivoted arm is also depressed and thus lowers the grinding wheel it carries to operative position with respect to the rail. Cylinders 32, 33, contain springs operatin on the rods 28, 29, to hold them normally in raised position or to restore them to raised position when the handle is released. The rod 28, for example, is spring pressed by the spring acting on a disk 35 held by a pin 34 through the rod 28, the pin 34 being inserted with the spring 35 under compression.

The surface grinding wheel 25 is provided with a guard 31 reinovably affixed to the gear mounting I5 and carrying a bracket 38 in which is threaded a stop arm 39 provided with a ball member stop 4i, adapted to contact the rail to be ground and prevent the wheel 25 from grinding below a predetermined surface, as set forth more fully in my copending application Serial No. 392,627, filed May 9, 1940. A spring pressed ratchet lock pin 4| takes into a groove 42 in the arm 39 to hold the arm against undesired turning. A control wheel 43 permits adjustment of the rail stop 43 up and down when the pin 4| is pulled out.

Above and parallel to an axle l of the grinder carriage is a control shaft 48 rotatably mounted in the brackets 8, 8, and geared to the axle 1 as by chains and sprockets 49, 49, and provided with handwheels 553, 59, at each end.

In order conveniently to swing the grinder completely around end for end so that the wheel operating on one rail may be brought into operation on the other rail, I prefer to use aturntable (Fig. 5) provided with arms 44, 44, spaced apart the width of the frame In and united in a bracket having a socket in which the base member 45 projects so that the bracket may be swivelled about at will. In operation, one end of the grinder may be lifted, the turntable set between the rails below of central portion of the grinder spanning the frame If! and when the grinder is lowered to cradlein the bracket arms 44, 44, the grinder may be swung around end for end, one

end tipped up again, the flanged wheels on the lowered side catching the rail, the turntable removed and the grinder lowered to the other rail. A set screw 41 or clamp is provided to lock the platform to the frame is fixed position either while swivelling the frame or moving the grinder or when called for in operating. It will be noted that in operating with the lock 41 released, the operator grasping either of the handles 30, 3|, not only controls downward pressure on the grinding wheel but may also pull or push the plat-form back and forth along the frame and across the rails.

The grinder is transported by rail car or truck to the place of operations and is lifted to the track, the engine started, lock 41 released, and an operator takes up his position at one end of the frame, normally squatting beside the rail to be ground, with one hand on the handle 30 or 3| and the other grasping a handwheel 50.

For cutting operations the handwheel 50 is held fixed, handle 3| depressed and the platform 5 adjusted backwards or forwards as desired. For surface grinding operations, the stop 40 is normally adjusted to the rail head at some distance from the joint or weld to be ground and before the engine! is started. Then, after the engine is started, the operator grasps the handle 30 and the handwheel 50 and while forcing down the handwheel 30 and thus the grinding wheel 25, rolls the carriage back and forth the few inches necessary for the grinding wheel to cover the length of work, the platform 5 being pulled forward or pushed back so that the wheel 25 will grind each element of rail head, the stop 40 acting to prevent a cut deeper than is required at that element of the railhead. All adjustments may take place While the grindingwheel is turning under power and though the entire rail head is slightly arcuate, the weld metal is entirely along the substantially fiat part of the rail head and each element can be readily reached by the usual form of grinding wheel. Although the carriage of the grinder is relatively light, the certainty with which the operator can grasp the controls, depending on the stop 49 and the bearin of the stop itself as it strikes the rail, prevents chattering and permits of a smoothly ground weld or joint as satisfactory as that made with heavier machines and conforming to the shape of the rail head. I

I claim:

1. A combination cutting and surfacing grinder for railway rails including a carriage which comprises a frame extending across both rails when said carriage is positioned, a platform which is movably mounted on said frame so constructed and arranged that it may be positioned above the rail to be ground, and a grinding mechanism supported by said platform including a pairof inter-geared parallel shafts below said platform, an arm pivoted on one of said shafts carryin a gear mechanism comprising a gear member and a driven pulley mounted on a sub-shaft parallel to said pair of shafts, a gear member and a grinding Wheel mounted on another sub-shaft at right angles to said first mentioned sub-shaft, a guard for said grinding wheel supported by said pivoted arm, a stop aifixed to said guard constructed and arranged to contact the rail to be ground and thus limit the downward movement of said pivoted arm, a driving pulley fixed on the same shaft on which said arm is pivoted and belted to said driven pulley, a handle above said platform connected to said pivoted arm constructed and arranged to depress said arm when said handle is depressed and thus force said grinding wheel and stop downwardly and spring means adapted to raise said pivoted arm and thus raise said grinding wheel when said handle is released.

2. A combination cutting and surfacing grinder for railway rails including a carriage mounted on flanged Wheels for movement along the rails, a frame of greater length than the gauge of said track and extending crosswise of said track when said carriage is in operative position, a platform movable back and forth along said frame to positions over either rail, a grinding mechanism supported by said platform and including below one end of said platform a cutter grinding wheel operable in a plane at right angles to the rail and below the other end of said platform a surface grinding wheel operable in a plane at right angles to that of the cutter wheel and provided with a stop adapted and arranged to contact the rail to be ground and limit the grinding operation, spring means adapted to hold each grinding wheel out of operative position and a handle suitably connected to the support of each grinding wheel constructed and arranged to force either wheel manually into operative position, means to drive both grinding wheels, a shaft suitably geared to an axle of said carriage and a manually operated control wheel mounted on said shaft so constructed and arranged as to move said carriage along the rails when said control wheel is turned, whereby to permit the surface grinding wheel to be positioned over the rail portion to be ground and moved back and forth While operating.

PAUL E. LOWE. 

